Uppa
by Shade the Hero
Summary: Sequel to "My Little Angel" - Cloud feels sad when he thinks he isn't the favorite, but that all changes when he looks on and feels a rush of excitement that only a parent could experience. (Fluffy!)


_Hello my wonderful readers. I wasn't going to upload this one-shot, but it was finished and just too cute not to share. This is a sequel of sorts to the one-shot I wrote a while back called "My Little Angel." It's fine by itself, but I had this idea in my head and it wouldn't leave me alone. So, here it is. Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it._

 _There may be more stories connected to this and I might just make it a series. I mean, I do have something I've been playing around with for a few years, but It's always been put on the back burner while I concentrate on my other stories._

 _Final Fantasy VII and all of it's characters belong to Square Enix_

 _Cirrus Strife belongs to me._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Ever since that one special day when that bright new dawn arrived in their lives the Strife family hadn't lived up the definition of its name. Well, there were some tantrums to be had and within the next few years the two adults knew to beware of the terrible twos and threes; however the elite tag team knew they could handle it. At least, the father assumed nothing could be worse than fighting off an insane warrior three times over, or so he hoped.

One of the proudest moments of his life aside from marrying the girl of his dreams and celebrating the very instant his child came into the world was when his sweet little one said her first word. Sure, it struck a small blow to his pride when it was 'baba' and not 'dada', but he knew more words would eventually follow. The disheartening part was dear little Cirrus seemed to favor her mother more. She always wanted Tifa to pick her up and so naturally the next word she learned was 'uppa'. Cloud had tried once, but she only fussed and she fussed during meal time for a whole week after. He had tried getting the little one to open up to him more, but gave up when she actually spit her baby food in his face. The little one had pretty good aim, unfortunately.

He never lost his temper with her, but Tifa could see how disheartened he was becoming. She was finding him in the garage more and more, working on the only baby that wouldn't give him attitude. That all changed however when Cloud noticed something odd.

The door to the garage was open so he could work and keep an eye on Cirrus as Tifa also had her own chores to get done. The blonde warrior would often glance into the living room where he could see the baby playing with her toys on the floor before getting back to his work. His focus was completely on her however when he noticed her stand for the first time. Excitement filled his heart as he watched her try to lift a foot to take that first step, but then he heard Tifa from the other room and the joy he felt withered when Cirrus fell back down, only to lift her arms up when Tifa walked by.

"Uppa uppa!"

"Not now sweetie, mommy's busy," was Tifa's reply.

Cloud could tell she was tired from trying to do three things at once. He had offered to help, but she declined it. Tifa turned to see him watching them and headed back to her tasks, knowing he was still vigilant, like always.

When he heard the door close he chose to take action. He couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. Walking into the living room he rubbed his hand gently over her head, her messy blonde hair so soft between his fingers. He felt a little sour when her hair had grown out of its spikes, but her bangs were still a bit spiky and the rest of her hair resembled her mother's. He was fine with that.

He figured he'd try something small at first, to see if Cirrus would even humor him. He offered his arms out. "Uppa?"

Cirrus smiled and lifted her arms up towards him. This was a very good sign. He rewarded her with a smile of his own before walking a few feet away. Not too far, but not close enough for her to want to crawl either.

"Over here Cirrus."

Just as he expected, she started to crawl and his smile vanished as he shook his head. "No. Not like that. C'mon. You have to walk."

"Dada," she whined.

Ah, so she _did_ have his name in her growing list of words after all. He tried to encourage her. "You can do it, I know you can."

"Dada uppa!"

Cloud sighed and walked over to her. He stood next to her and it was hard to resist the urge to pick her up, but he knew she'd never learn if he gave in. "I'll always be by your side sweetheart. But you gotta be willing to stand with me."

It was hard for him to describe the pride and joy he felt when he saw her eyes sparkle. He walked back over to his former position, kneeled down and held out his arms. "Come to dada Cirrus."

She looked like she was about to fuss again, but then Cloud's efforts were rewarded as slowly, she stood on shaky legs. He held his breath, while in the back of his mind a voice was lecturing him how it wasn't fair that Tifa was missing out on this moment, but if he tried to get her attention then Cirrus would probably change her mind.

Cirrus lifted a foot, not quite sure what to do next. Then she remembered how her dad got over there and she let her foot down a few inches ahead of her. The wide look in her eyes mirrored the look her father gave her. "That's it! You got this, now the other one."

Cirrus looked at her other foot and went to lift it, but became unbalanced and she fell, landing on her rear. The look she gave her father was one of complete defeat. Her eyes welled up with tears and her lower lip started to quiver.

Just like that, her father was there, at her side. He placed a comforting hand on her back. "it's okay. Everyone falls. But we all have to keep trying. You can do this, believe in yourself and believe in me."

He wiped the unshed tears from her eyes and smiled as he returned to his spot and held his arms out. "Come here sweetheart."

"Dada…" Cirrus was unsure at first, but she did try again. Standing up, she took another shaky step. She wobbled a bit, but kept her balance. She looked back at her other foot and was unsure.

"Focus on me," Cloud told her. "Don't think about what scares you. You got this."

Cirrus kept her eyes on him as she brought her other foot forward, wobbled more and remained standing. She took another step, then another. Each time she was more sure of herself until finally she walked into her father's waiting arms. He pulled her close to him and hugged her tightly before lifting her up. "Dada! I did-did!"

"I knew you could," he replied.

Tifa came into the room then with two baskets full of clothes to fold. "Denzel should be home from school anytime now. I've got his snack cooling on the countertop for him…"

"Mama, I uppa!"

Tifa looked over at the two and smiled warmly at them. "I see sweetie, Dada's got you uppa."

That was when Cloud's smile grew to a point where it actually surprised Tifa. "No, this time She was uppa all by herself."

"What do you mean Cloud?" The barmaid asked, confused.

Cloud set Cirrus down and nodded towards Tifa. "Show Mama."

Cirrus smiled and with more confidence she made the journey forward to her mother. When she took that first critical step Tifa's eyes went wide and she set the baskets down and held her arms out for her daughter. Cirrus wobbled into her mother arms and Tifa rewarded her by picking her up and spinning her around, making Cirrus laugh.

"Oh Cirrus, your first steps! I'm so proud of you!"

Cirrus just shook her head. "No Mama, Dada first."

Tifa stopped and looked over at Cloud who for once, couldn't stop smiling.

"Not still salty over 'baba' being her first word anymore," Tifa asked slyly.

"Nope," the father replied proudly.


End file.
